Kamikaze

• Summary: a daughter's train of thought on how her father didn't complete his suicide mission as a kamikaze pilot in WWII. She relates his experience to the natural beauty of earth, and how he was shunned when he returned home because of Japan's cultural standards
• Beatrice Garland was inspired to write kamikaze by the motivations of people dying for their country
• During WWII, well trained japanese pilots would volunteer to die for their country as a last resort to 'change the direction of war', but if they refused they would be shunned.
• Kamikaze pilots were named after a typhoon that wiped out enemy ships in the 13th century, which links to nature being the true source of power
• japanese culture was very patriotic and the military's focus was on dying and fighting for your country and it was better to die than be named a coward.
• japanese culture during the war was very honour based with people being taught that one person's dishonour would stain their family, emphasising being brave comes before every else
• Garland makes specific references to ‘fishing boats’ and the ‘green-blue translucent sea.’ Japan’s history is steeped in seafaring traditions. Many Japanese people in the past lived and worked near/on the sea, as fishing and trading were key features of life. Garland compares this peaceful life with the position that the kamikaze pilot finds himself
• Enjambment: helps the reader experience the pilot’s altering mindset whilst on the kamikaze mission. It's first used in stanza one, to echo the incantations (chants) of loyalty that the pilot repeats to himself early in the flight – the lack of punctuation reflect that he is not stopping and dwelling on thoughts of death. 'a shaven head/ full of powerful incantations/ and enough fuel for a one-way/ journey into history.'
• enjambment in stanza 4 (lack of punctuation). Fond memories of his past flood into his mind and overtake his mindset which explains his change in decision
• ' a shaven head/ full of powerful incantations' he is under the spell of patriotism and propaganda as he isn't making his own decisions. Also suggests the authority of the Japanese military and it's been drummed into him that this is the right thing to do.
• The poet uses colour imagery (green-blue), adjectives (translucent) and a simile (strung out like bunting) to suggest the serenity and beauty of life for the seafaring peoples of Japan. The beauty of these fishing boats is ironic as the pilot is supposed to be looking for warships.
• connotations of peace and tranquility in the colourful idyllic imagery, reminds him of better days and memories of his life( green-blue translucent sea). also the power of nature gives him an idea of what he is truly sacrificing
• 'her father embarked at sunrise' sunrise- links to japan (land of rising sun). embarked- start of his realisation that life is worth living.
• 'one-way journey into history' no return, will be remembered for his honourable and noble deed.
• 'strung out like bunting' simile- bunting associated with celebration... starts to realise life is worth celebrating and not to be sacrificed in warfare.
• 'like a huge flag waved first one way' simile, nature is thriving and full of life, signalling to him and reminding him that life is worth living.
• 'figure of eight' is the symbol for infinity, which implies nature is infinite in comparison to humanity and life is brief and precious so don't WASTE it
• 'fishes flashing silver' fricative/metaphor, silver suggests precious nature of life and it's value
• 'bellies swivelled towards the sun' sibilance implies a sense of grace and peacefulness, also increases pace to make the poem sound more emotional
• 'remembered how he and his brothers waiting on the shore' pilot starts to reminisce about his childhood and sows further seeds of doubt into his head about his mission
• 'the turbulent inrush of breakers' turbulent reflects his current state of mind as he knows he no longer wants to carry out this mission
• 'he and his brothers waiting on the shore/built cairns' nostalgia of (he and his brothers building with stones on the beach) – suggests appreciation of the small things in life which may have seemed insignificant – now they are everything to him
• 'pearl-grey pebbles' another image of a precious gem, starting to realise life and nature's importance
• 'salt-sodden' 'feathery prawns' Sense of taste and touch are evoked here. Creates a vivid image of a vivid memory. Pilot is reminded that life is exciting and he can still be part of it if he chooses.
• sibilance in 5th stanza to mimic the sounds of the sea: 'salt-sodden' 'safe' 'shore' 'awash'
• 'tuna, the dark prince, muscular dangerous'- suggests nature is a virtue and should be treated with respect
• 'my mother never spoke again in his presence' ashamed of her own husband, and treats him as if he were dead because he didn't make the ultimate sacrifice for his country
• 'nor did she meet his eyes' eyes are the window to the soul and his wife shuts him out because she doesn't want to see the person he has become
• 'the neighbors too, they treated him as if he no longer existed' they = unifying pronoun, shunned by the wider community for his cowardliness
• 'we too learned' the children begin to understand the patriotic and cultural values. 'no longer the father we loved' children condemn him and put cultural beliefs over love of their father
• tone changes in the final stanza 7, contrasts to the vibrancy of life to the pilot's alientation- like a living death
• 'which had been the better way to die.' both options offer a kind of death and this line implies how soldiers are controlled by propaganda and used as tools of the government. was it worth it?
• Theme: patriotism, courage an

  d honour. demonstrating this was seen as a compulsory comitment
• 3rd person pronouns: describes the pilot, for example ‘he,’ and ‘his.’ ‘He’ is not named – representative of the fact that he no longer has a voice – in the eyes of his community he has been dishonoured. The italics towards the end of the poem indicates a shift towards the first person (we, my).
• Form = consistent and regular. 7 stanzas, each containing 6 lines. This regular structure could be seen to represent the regimented order of Empirical Japan. No apparent consistent rhyme scheme, meaning a lack of flow. This could represent the confusing influences in the pilot’s mind.
• Theme- personal experiences of war
• the structure ( tightly controlled stanza lengths of 6 lines) is juxtaposed by the free verse and enjambment
• Link between Kamikaze & The Prelude:

  Kamikaze celebrates beauty of nature but prelude fears it

  K= patriotism vs nature P = man vs nature

  both speakers are forced to reconsider their perspective and consider the power and influence of nature
• Link between Kamikaze and Poppies:

  Similarities: both process memories, psychological impact of war (mother grieves son and daughter grieves father)

  Differences: K is loss of father because of cultural rejection and P is loss of son because of physical death
• Link between Kamikaze and Checking out me history:

  Similarities: both express importance of a person's history and originsin forming an identity

  Differences: K= problems with her culture, and COMH= problems with those against his culture